Known electric power feeding apparatuses are arranged to receive a wiring harness or cable, connected to an electric device installed in a vehicle slide seat, so that the cable does not interfere with neighboring part during sliding movement of the seat. One example of such known apparatuses is disclosed in JP-A-2004-210084.
The disclosed electric power feeding apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B hereof, is used in conjunction with a vehicle slide seat 101 equipped with an electric device and sidable along a slide rail 103. The apparatus includes a cable rail 102 disposed adjacent the slide rail 103 on a vehicle floor, a power feeding cable 104 disposed inside the cable rail 102, a coupler 116 interconnecting a free end of the power feeding cable 104 and a cable 115 connected to the electric device, and a bracket arm 112 supporting the coupler 116 and attached to an upper member 111 of the slide rail 103. The free end of the power feeding cable 104 is drawn out from the cable rail 102 through a slit (not designated) formed in a top wall of the cable rail 102. To minimize an exposed area of the slit, seal covers 107, 108 are mounted to an upper part of the cable rail 102. The cable rail 102 is connected through a bracket plate 105 to the slide rail 103. A cover 106 extends over a space defined between the cable rail 102 and the slide rail 103.
With this arrangement, when the seat 101 slides along the slide rail 103, the free end of the power feeding cable 102 is movable together with the seat 101 while the power feeding cable 104 remains received inside the cable rail 102.
The known electric power feeding apparatus of the foregoing construction has a problem that the slit formed in the top wall of the cable rail 102 allows entry of foreign matter into the cable rail 102, which may hinder smooth flexing of the power feeding cable inside the cable rail during sliding movement of the seat 101. The seal covers 107, 108 are insufficient to address this problem. Furthermore, due to the provision of the seal covers 107, 108, the known electric power feeding apparatus has a relatively large number of parts to be assembled together, is relatively complicated in construction, and requires a relatively long assembly time